458 



MEDICINAL PLANTS 



MEDICINAL PLANTS 



are thoroughly ripe in order to secure a bright 

 appearance in the crude article, as in conium, cori- 

 ander, anise, fennel and American wormseed. Others 

 are allowed to ripen thoroughly, as red peppers 

 and chillies. Some fruits are collected and allowed 

 to dry before the seeds obtained from them are 

 separated, as opium poppy, stramonium and castor- 

 beans. 



Methods of preparation. 



Usually the products of medicinal, condimental 

 and aromatic plants are not used when fresh, but 

 have to be got into a condition permitting storage 

 or shipment so that they may be used at a distance 

 or at some later time. The homeopathic school of 

 medicine makes it a strong point to use plant 

 drugs in a fresh condition or preserved by immer- 

 sion in alcohol. In general, the preservation of 

 these products is brought about by simple drying. 

 When dry many of them retain their most impor- 

 tant properties for use. The live roots are care- 

 fully cleaned by washing, and if not too large for 

 easy drying are merely spread out in some airy 

 place. If too large, they are cut up, frequently 

 into characteriotic forms. Leaf products are dried 

 in the shade with natural heat or over a gentle 

 artificial heat, about 125° Fahr. In order to 

 secure a bright green color, pains must be taken 

 to keep the leaves from taking up moisture at any 

 stage. When dry they should be stored out of 

 strong light. Barks are usually "rossed" before 

 drying, i. e., the dead outer corky parts are scraped 

 off. In the case of some drugs, as cascara bark, a 

 more or less prolonged period of storage is neces- 

 sary before use. Flowers and fruits are best when 

 dried as promptly as possible without raising the 

 temperature to a point likely to drive off more of 

 the volatile substances than is necessary. Nearly 

 all drug and condiment products leave the hands 

 of the growers in the form of the crude, dry prod- 

 ucts, which are worked up by the manufacturers 

 into the proper forms for use. 



Medicinal, condimental and aromatic plant impor- 

 tation. 



The sources of our crude drugs and condiments 

 are very widely separated, depending in large part 

 on climatic conditions. Common drug plants 

 belonging to the temperate zone, such as digitalis, 

 burdock and caraway, are in very large part pro- 

 duced in northern and central Europe, frequently 

 in more or less localized regions. Caraway comes 

 chiefly from Holland, in small quantities from 

 Norway, east Prussia and southern Germany. 

 Fennel is cultivated in Saxony, Galicia, Macedonia 

 and Italy. Digitalis leaves and belladonna reach 

 the market from northern Germany, Austria, 

 Belgium, Holland and England. Peppermint oil is 

 produced chiefly in Japan and the United States. 

 Other plants demanding tropical conditions are 

 obtained from regions in which their culture has 

 been undertaken. Cinchona bark, from which 

 quinine is obtained, came formerly from the slopes 

 of the Andes. Cultivation of this plant in India, 

 Java, and other parts of the Orient has succeeded in 



so far as to cause the practical disappearance of 

 the wild barks of South America from the market. 

 Ipecacuanha, likewise a native of northern South 

 America, is apparently repeating this history. 

 Black and white pepper are chiefly produced in 

 southeastern Asia, coming on the market through 

 Singapore and Penang. Cloves are in large part 

 supplied by Zanzibar, where the crop constitutes 

 one of the royal monopolies. Some products are 

 derived from still more localized regions, as buchu 

 leaves from the vicinity of Cape Town, South 

 Africa, and aloes from South Africa, the island of 

 Socotra in the Red sea, and the Barbadoes islands. 

 Some are cultivated, as may be seen in numerous 

 cases cited above, and some are wild products. 

 Camphor until recently has been derived from an 

 essentially wild .tree growing in Japan, China and 

 Formosa. The great depletion of the natural for- 

 ests has led the Japanese government to make 

 extensive plantings. Several African sorts of the 

 red peppers of the market are collected by natives 

 from the wild plants and brought long distances 

 to market. 



The quantity of drugs and condimental products 

 imported into the United States may be learned 

 from the customs report, which shows a total of 

 $16,414,868.37 for the twelve months ended June 

 30, 1906. 



DESCRIPTIVE NOTES 



It is not intended to present here a discussion 

 of all the plants used for medicinal, condimental 

 and aromatic purposes. A few of the more common 

 and useful ones only are discussed in detail. 



Anise (Pimpinella Anisum, Linn.). Umbelliferce. 

 (G. F. Klugh.) 



Anise is an annual herb, two to three feet high, 

 with smooth, twice-pinnate leaves, small yellowish 

 white flowers in large terminal umbels, followed by 

 short, somewhat curved, ribbed fruits ordinarily 

 seen in pairs fastened together along their straight 

 sides, narrowed toward the upper end, with a pleas- 

 ant aromatic odor and taste. 



Anise is widely cultivated for the aromatic fruits 

 and the volatile oil distilled from them. Russia is 

 the largest present source, with a considerable 

 quantity grown in other European countries, 

 especially on the Mediterranean sea. The plant has 

 been grown in America only on a small scale, 

 chiefly in gardens. Considerable heat seems to be 

 required to mature the crop. 



The plant grows readily from seed drilled in a 

 good loamy soil, at such distances as may be best 

 fitted to the method of cultivation, whether by 

 horse or by hand. Planting should be done in the 

 early spring. The fruit matures in the fall. Since 

 a bright, clean appearance is desired, the fruit is 

 collected before fully ripe. It is threshed off, dried 

 and stored. The peculiar sweetish, aromatic taste 

 is due chiefly to the volatile oil located in the ribs 

 of the fruit. 



The fruits are rarely used for flavoring, the oil 

 obtained by distillation being preferred. The usual 

 yield of oil is about 2.5 per cent. The material re- 



